Sharp Tunes - Sheer Class - Sure High

''It was hot down South in New Orleans town,

I didn't think I'd stay so long,

I sat a while, Southern style,

I made me pick me up.I got me new songs…''

Between the completion of Downtown America in 1996 & the beginning of 2002's Summer Of Love tour, Dave was living, performing & recording in New Orleans, Louisiana.

During that time, he wrote countless songs, and often headed into the studio with ''some of the finest musicians I ever had the pleasure of working with'' to make demo recordings of some of these songs. Due to popular demand, these ''lost'' electric full band demos have finally been made available on two chronologically split CDs.

The first disc covers the period up to 1998's ''Guts & Glory Tour'' (when some of the tracks got their full electric debut), with the second covering the period from then until The Summer Of Love.

Dave is renowned as a virtuoso guitarist, a great songwriter and consummate performer, but these discs bring another of Dave's talents to prominence - namely production. As the first song on the first Disc kicks in, it is the production that makes you immediately sit up and take notice. If you're expecting some rough-assed demo recorded on a four-track in some basement, then think again. The production on these songs is first class. It is rich, a full multi-layered sound.

Speaking recently, Dave said:

''Production on Disc One was heavily influenced by my time spent with Dreamland in the period when Evenfield was under construction and in development. (Editors note: Evenfield was started as a collective song-writing workshop by Vegas, Paul Licciardi Frank Saucier and Dave Sharp). As a result, most of the musicians on this CD had passed through Dreamland at one time or another. It represented a move from the folksier type stuff over to a more pop format, and as such the production is quite eclectic. At the time, the American scene was just beginning to open up from hard-core grunge, and a bit more melodic content was creeping in, which I've no doubt influenced everybody's thinking. It was still, however, in essence quite experimental, as I was beginning to give thought on how to bring in a bit more of a mainstream pop mentality after being leftfield in the folk / folk-rock arena whilst having worked with Bob Johnston for so long. Most of this material was featured on my '98 tour of the U.K. in order to test the water.''

As ''Sure High'' kicks in you are enveloped by slide guitar, a kick-ass bass line and a great vocal. Cutting straight through the centre of it is Dave's trademark guitar sound - ringing clear as a bell. As he strikes the first chord, there is no mistaking the fact that Mr Sharp has picked up his electric guitar again. No one makes a guitar sing like this and it is great to hear it again.

''Heartbeat'' is next - the great lyrics punctuated by Sharp's ripsaw guitar playing. This is followed swiftly with ''Enlightenment''. All I can say is that Dave must have had a moment of enlightenment when he chose to cover this Van Morrison song. It fits his style and his voice so perfectly, you would swear that Dave had written it himself. Hammond Organ and great piano from Tim Bryant make this one of the standout tracks of Disc One.

''Misunderstood'' - another cover - is up next. Dave Dennis' staccato violin creating an edgy mood on a great arrangement of this song.

''Holy Walkin''' brings a change of pace and style - this was one of the standout live tracks of the Guts and Glory tour, and this studio version does full justice to the song. Great percussion coupled with a beautiful violin sound carry this song along brilliantly.

By the time ''Shine On'' comes around you begin to get a real idea of the scope and diversity of Dave's song writing. This one sounds unlike any of the other songs on these discs, yet it is unmistakably Dave Sharp. The same could be said of ''Love Understanding'' - another reworking of one of the MP3 demos that Dave put out a few years ago. This version has a harder edge, where Dave's stabbing guitar licks are to the fore. This is one of a number of songs that is such an instant classic, you can bet if a band like Oasis released it, it would be number one for weeks.

It would be hard to follow ''Love Understanding'' with any song - ''Let the Deal Go Down'' doesn't manage to better it, but the following song does. ''Back on the Right Side'' is one of the songs of Dave's career. The version on the Summer of Love CD's hinted at it's potential, but nothing can prepare you for just how good it really sounds with a full band behind it. The hook in the chorus will be spinning round your head for weeks after hearing this. A masterpiece.

The final song on Disc One is a prayer for the Traveller - ''Endless Road''. The first impression I got when hearing this one was that it would be a great piece of music for the exit titles of a film. It has that cinematic quality, with hints of an old epic Western.

CD2:

If CD One is a showcase of Dave's producing and arranging skills, then CD Two is all about what he does best - the guitar.

Whereas the first disc has lush multi-instrumentation, CD two is stripped to the bone - it is raw, urgent and exciting. A solid rhythm section is the only backing, putting Dave's electric guitar playing firmly back in centre-stage. This was a deliberate move as Dave explains:

''I was particularly excited to start work on this batch of material, as I'd finally succumbed to requests to pick up the electric guitar again. Until this time, I was still writing with an acoustic feel in mind. So this is a pivotal batch of music. By this time the approach, sound and production had become totally focused, and I was very clear that I wanted to record a rock/pop album. This is the material that I've been currently working on with the band up north and represents a definite ''starting point.'' I deliberately wanted to incorporate an early '70s ''roadhouse'' feel and simplify the band to a classic four-piece set-up and felt that I could legitimately move my electric guitar playing forward from what I did with The Alarm. I feel that this is the first album's worth of songs that logically follows on in the Alarm's history, and as such represents the definitive 'next step.'''

The album kicks off with a song that I feel is probably the weakest on the disc. ''Breakdown'' certainly has the ''roadhouse'' feel that Dave mentions above, and it is a nice little workout from a tight set of players. There is nothing ''wrong'' with it, but in the company of the other songs on this disc it is not a standout number in my opinion.

''Soul Devotion'' on the other hand grabs you by the scruff of the neck and forces you to sit up and take notice - If you've been waiting to hear Dave do his thing on the electric guitar again, then I can tell you that the wait is over. This song about the human spirit will touch your soul.

Dave keeps up the pace with ''Sugarland'' a song where Sharp shows he is as talented on the bass as he is on lead guitar. ''One Heart, One Mind, One Soul''.

''Love Magic'' - one of the new acoustic tracks on the Summer of Love CD's gets the full electric treatment next and really benefits in the process - a simple song with a powerful message - a celebration of love, empathy and understanding.

Dave moves into story-telling mode for the next couple of tracks - ''The Traveller'' is a blues-soaked autobiographical journey. It sounds like it could have been written 100 years ago, yet it contains a nod to a more recent past than that:

''I was moving Southbound, Looking for love, Looking for something to call my own,

I was born by the river, maybe there I'll get One Step Closer to Home.''

''Just like Joanne'' is a cool little story from Dave's time in New Orleans. The driving guitar is the underpinning force behind this song as Sharpy tells his tale.

''American Sky'' moves things up a gear as Dave motors along on the Telecaster. The song builds with a relentless urgency until Dave shouts ''Take me back home!'' I love this one - three and a half minutes of frantic action.

''Soul to Soul'' is an upbeat affirmation of the moment of love and connection between two people, swiftly followed by ''The Freedom Drive'' another Summer of Love song that has really blossomed with a full band behind it - this is a Sharp classic.

All too soon we reach the last song - a Bob Johnston (and Dave Sharp) produced track from 1995. This one is a bit different to the rest of those on this disc. For one thing, it features the playing of Chris Solberg, Larry Crane and Dave Grisholm who all appeared on the Downtown America sessions. It sounds like an old gospel spiritual. A perfect end to the album.

It is only fitting that the final word should go to Dave himself:

''I feel strongly that for the past three / four years music in general has lost its way, and I set out to try to take a definitive approach that, in my opinion, shows where music should be going.''

If this is where music should be going, then I for one am along for the ride.

Time Travlin' - Sharp Tunes - Sheer Class - Sure High.